Inflatable slide or bouncer

ABSTRACT

An inflatable structure includes a first inflatable section having an interior open to an airflow from a blower, and a second inflatable section attached to the first inflatable section and having an interior that is substantially closed from the airflow such that if the airflow is stopped the second inflatable section will not deflate as fast as the first inflatable section and will support the first inflatable section.

FIELD

This invention relates to the field of inflatables, and morespecifically to inflatable slides.

BACKGROUND

Inflatables, such as inflatable slides, are air-inflated devices thatare typically used for children's amusement. Inflatables have beendesigned to resemble real-life objects, such as ships, fire trucks, andanimals. An inflatable slide typically includes a stairway, a slideportion, and side walls. The entire structure being air-inflated. Airconstantly leaks from such an inflatable so a continually running bloweris used to keep the inflatable pressurized and supported. If the bloweris stopped or the airflow reduced, the entire structure can rapidlydepressurize and deflate. What is needed is a design allowing forheightened safety for users of the inflatable.

SUMMARY

An inflatable structure includes a first inflatable section having aninterior open to an airflow from a blower, and a second inflatablesection attached to the first inflatable section and having an interiorthat is substantially closed from the airflow such that if the airflowis stopped the second inflatable section will not deflate as fast as thefirst inflatable section so as to support the first inflatable section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an inflatable structure according toone embodiment of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section view of the inflatable structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic front view of the inflatable structure of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic front view of the inflatable structure of FIG.1.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic front view of a prior art inflatable structure.

FIG. 6 shows another schematic front view of the prior art inflatablestructure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description and accompanying drawings showvarious embodiments according to the inventive subject matter disclosedherein. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodimentsmay be utilized and structural changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an inflatable structure 100 accordingto one embodiment. Inflatable structure 100 is an inflatable slide inthis example. Other embodiments can include other inflatable structuresdesigned to support children or adults while being played on, such asbouncers, climbing walls, or other air-inflated structures. Someembodiments can include other inflatable units such as inflatableamusement or advertising structures.

In this example, inflatable structure 100 is a vinyl structure andincludes a stairway 110 which extends to a slide 120. Various examplesof such structures can range from 15 feet high to 35 feet high, orhigher. A blower 105 is attached to the inflatable structure 100 tocontinually blow air into the interior of the structure to support theinflatable structure. Blower 105 is a high output blower and istypically a high pressure-low volume blower when used to inflate aninflatable slide. In the past, if a blower stopped working for anyreason, air within an inflatable structure would immediately exitthrough the blower causing the structure to deflate rapidly. This can bean inconvenience at best and may be dangerous if a person is on thestructure.

For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 shows a prior art inflatable 10. In FIG. 5,the inflatable is inflated and pressurized by a continually runningblower. FIG. 6 shows an example of inflatable 10 collapsing after theblower is stopped or has its airflow substantially reduced.

One embodiment of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein providesa safety feature to prevent an inflatable structure from collapsing ortipping over if the blower stops or the airflow through the blower isreduced.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section view of structure 100. Structure 100includes a first inflatable section 210 having an interior 215 open tothe airflow from blower 105 (FIG. 1) through an inlet 217. The firstinflatable section 210 is adapted to be inflated and supported by theblower when the blower is running continually. As noted above, sincethere is a constant air leakage from inflatables, a continually runningblower is need to keep the inflatable pressurized and inflated. Theinflatable further includes a second inflatable section 230 that isattached to a side of first inflatable section 210. Second section 230and first section 210 are separated by a wall 240. One embodimentincludes a third inflatable section 250 that is attached to a secondside of first section 210 and separated from the interior of the firstsection by a wall 255.

The interior of the first inflatable section 210 and the interior of thesecond and third inflatable sections, 230 and 250, are substantiallyseparated. This means the airflow is not directly into the second andthird sections but comes through small holes such as needle holes atseams 260 between the middle section and the outer sections. Someexamples provide small holes directly through the wall surface betweenthe sections. A small amount of air may also flow through the vinylmaterial of walls 240 and 255. Accordingly, the second and thirdsections 230 and 250 are substantially closed from the airflow cominginto first section 210 from the blower. This causes the second and thirdsections to inflate slower than the first section 210. The structurealso causes the second and third sections to deflate slower than thefirst section since air can rapidly leave section 210 through blowerinlet 217, but can only leave sections 230 and 250 through seam holes ordefusing through the material itself. For example, it can take 5 to 20minutes longer to fully inflate sections 230 and 250 relative to section210. Likewise, the deflation of the supporting sections can be at least5 minutes greater than the first section and can be even 30 minutes orgreater. Accordingly, if the airflow is stopped the second and thirdinflatable sections will not deflate as fast as the first inflatablesection, this allows them to support the structure 100 while people canget off the structure safely.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of inflatable 100 with a continual airflowbeing blown into the structure. FIG. 4 shows an example when the airflowis stopped or reduced into the inflatable structure 100. First section210 depressurizes and deflates with the air leaving through inlet 217(FIG. 2). A small amount of air flows into the first section 210 fromsecond and third sections, 230 and 250, through seam holes. However, asnoted above, this air takes much longer to be emitted, thus leavingsections 230 and 250 inflated for a longer time than the middle section.The sections 230 and 250 remain vertically oriented and supported by airand thus support section 210 between themselves to prevent the structurefrom collapsing or tipping over.

The second and third inflatable sections 230 and 250 each include alower surface 305 resting on a ground surface and are attached to thesides of the first inflatable section. They therefore support the middlesection even though the middle section is deflating and depressurized.This prevents the entire structure 100 from collapsing or tipping over.In this example, sections 230 and 250 have an upper section 315 which isattached to section 210 so as to provide support all the way to the topof the stairway and slide so as to support the structure at least up tothe height of the slide. In various examples, the supporting sections230 and 250 can have different heights. For example, some embodimentshave an upper section 315 attached about half-way up the structure orabout three-quarters of the way up the structure.

Thus in use, inflatable structure 100 is inflated so that at least twosections are air-inflated but are separated by a wall such that if anairflow into the first air-filled section is reduced the second sectionstays inflated for a longer time than the first section. This at leasttemporarily supports the inflatable structure if the airflow into theinflatable structure is reduced to a level that does not support theinflatable structure.

One aspect of the inventive subject matter is a method includinginflating an inflatable structure with an airflow from a continuallyrunning blower and at least temporarily supporting the inflatablestructure if the airflow into the inflatable structure is reduced to alevel that does not support the inflatable structure. At leasttemporarily supporting can include providing a separate inflatablesection of the inflatable structure that does not include a directopening to the airflow.

One embodiment includes an inflatable having a first inflatable portionin open communication with air-flow from a blower and one or moresecondary inflatable portions attached to the first inflatable portion.The secondary inflatable portions are not in open communication with theair-flow but are inflated through seams between the first inflatableportion and the secondary portions or from small holes between the firstinflatable portion and the secondary portions. If the blower stops forany reason, the secondary portions do not immediately deflate butinstead provide temporary support to the first inflatable portion.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skillin the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of theinvention should, therefore, be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled.

1. An apparatus comprising: a first inflatable section having aninterior open to an airflow from a continually running blower whichprovides support for the first inflatable section; and a secondinflatable section attached to the first inflatable section and havingan interior that is substantially separated from the interior of thefirst inflatable section such that if the airflow is stopped the secondinflatable section will not deflate as fast as the first inflatablesection, wherein the second inflatable section provides support to thefirst inflatable section when the airflow is stopped.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the first inflatable section includes a top surfacedefining a slide.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the secondinflatable section supports the first inflatable section atsubstantially the full height of the first inflatable section when theairflow is stopped.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the airflowinto the second section flows through seam-holes between the first andsecond section.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the secondinflatable section includes a lower surface resting on a ground surfaceand a side surface attached at least half-way up a side of the firstinflatable section.
 6. An apparatus comprising a second inflatablesection of an inflatable amusement or advertising unit supporting afirst inflatable section, the first inflatable section including a slidehaving a height of at least 15 feet, wherein the second inflatablesection is adapted to deflate more slowly than the first inflatablesection when a source of airflow to the inflatable unit is interruptedor stopped such that the slide is supported by the second inflatablesection.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first inflatablesection is directly coupled to a blower to receive a continual air-flowfrom the blower.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, including a wall betweenthe first and second inflatable sections, wherein the second inflatablesection receives a portion of the airflow through holes at a seambetween the first section and the second section.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the first inflatable section is a central portion ofthe inflatable amusement or advertising unit and the second section ison a side of the first inflatable section.
 10. The apparatus of claim 6,including a third inflatable section for supporting the first inflatablesection, wherein the third inflatable section is adapted to deflate moreslowly than the first inflatable section when a source of airflow to theinflatable unit is interrupted or stopped.
 11. An apparatus comprising:an inflatable structure adapted to be supported by airflow of acontinually running blower; and means to at least temporarily supportthe inflatable structure at substantially its full height if the airflowinto the inflatable structure is reduced to a level that does notsupport the inflatable structure.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe inflatable structure includes an upper surface defining a slide. 13.The apparatus of claim 11, wherein means to at least temporarily supportincludes a second inflatable structure coupled to the inflatablestructure that is not open to the airflow.
 14. An apparatus comprising:an inflatable structure having a first inflatable portion defining aslide having a height of at least 15 feet and a stairway extending tothe tot) of the slide, the first inflatable portion having an interiorvolume open to an air-flow from a blower and adapted to be pressurizedby the blower running continually, the inflatable structure including asecond inflatable portion attached to the first inflatable portion andhaving a bottom surface resting on a ground surface and a top sectionattached to the first inflatable portion at a height at least half-wayup the first inflatable portion, the second inflatable portion nothaving direct communication with the airflow such that the secondinflatable portion inflates slower than the first inflatable portion andalso deflates slower than the first inflatable portion, wherein if theairflow from the blower is stopped or reduced the second inflatableportion will at least temporarily support the first inflatable portion.15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second inflatable portionreceives a portion of the airflow through holes at a seam between thefirst inflatable portion and the inflatable portion section.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 14, including a third inflatable portion attached tothe first inflatable portion, the third inflatable portion not havingdirect communication with the airflow.
 17. An apparatus comprising aninflatable amusement or advertising structure adapted for inflation by asubstantially continuous airflow from a blower, the structure includingat least two inflatable sections wherein a first one of the inflatablesections is positioned and adapted to: a) remain inflated longer thanthe other inflatable section after airflow from the blower isinterrupted, and b) provide support for the other inflatable section soas to support the other inflatable section up to substantially its fullheight even as the other inflatable section deflates.
 18. The apparatusof claim 17, wherein the apparatus includes an inflatable slide.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 18, wherein the structure includes a third inflatablesection which is also adapted to: a) remain inflated longer than theother inflatable section after airflow from the blower is interrupted,and b) provide support the other inflatable section even as the otherinflatable section deflates.
 20. A method comprising supporting a firstinflatable section of an inflatable amusement or advertising structureup to substantially its full height using a second inflatable sectionadapted to deflate more slowly than the first inflatable section when asource of continual airflow to the inflatable structure is interruptedor stopped.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the airflow to thestructure is delivered by a continually running blower.
 22. A methodcomprising: inflating an inflatable slide structure with an airflow froma continually running blower; and at least temporarily supporting theinflatable slide structure at substantially a full height of the slidestructure if the airflow into the inflatable structure is reduced to alevel that does not support the inflatable structure.
 23. The method ofclaim 22, wherein at least temporarily supporting includes providing aseparate inflatable section of the inflatable structure that does notinclude a direct opening to the airflow.